CHADDS FORD, Pa. (AP) – Andrew Wyeth’s storied collection of 240 images of Pennsylvania neighbor Helga Testorf has been sold to an American buyer, and is no longer in the custody of the Brandywine River Museum.

Ann Richards Nitze of Washington, who arranged the sale of the Helga Pictures, declined to identify the buyer or the price to The Philadelphia Inquirer, which reported the sale in Sunday’s editions.

“The thing that’s marvelous about the change of ownership is that it’s back under American ownership. That’s so very important,” said art dealer Frank E. Fowler, who has represented Wyeth for 35 years.

Wyeth, now 88, stunned the art world in 1986 when he revealed a secret cache of 240 paintings, watercolors and pencil studies he had done of Testorf between 1971 and 1985. The news was a surprise even to Wyeth’s wife Betsy.

Wyeth sold the collection to someone who, in turn, sold it in 1989 to a Japanese collector. That person, though, entrusted it to the Brandywine, which is near Wyeth’s property in suburban Philadelphia. Some Helga works have been displayed at the museum over the years, and others were lent out for traveling exhibitions.

The new owner took custody of the collection following Wednesday’s sale. Museum spokesman Halsey Spruance confirmed the collection was no longer at the Brandywine but said he does not know where it is.

The museum still has other works that span Wyeth’s career, Fowler noted.

Wyeth divides his time between Pennsylvania and Maine.

A Wyeth retrospective, “Andrew Wyeth: Memory and Magic,” is on view at the High Museum in Atlanta and moves to the Philadelphia Museum of Art from March 29 to July 16.

Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, http://www.philly.com

Copy the Story Link